


Climbing the Podium Together

by BookewyrmeWritesFic



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Grand Prix Series, M/M, My First AO3 Post, My First Work in This Fandom, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Skate America, Yurio makes a brief appearance, and yuuri has trouble coming to terms with that, anxiety happens, in which yuuri skates first, victor is no longer perfect, yuuri blushes a lot, yuuri choreographs his own program, yuuri's point of view
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-06 11:59:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11035755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookewyrmeWritesFic/pseuds/BookewyrmeWritesFic
Summary: Victor and Yuuri are now competitors, as well as coach and skater, and lovers. They've both made it to the Grand Prix series, but won't compete against each other until the final. Before that, they both have to make it to the final.





	1. Skate America

**Author's Note:**

> Edited the tags and the rating on this. It's gonna get a bit naughtier than I first anticipated, and I am still navigating the difference between mature and explicit here, so erring not the side of caution.

Viktor knelt in front of Yuuri, tightening his skates and straightening the legs of Yuuri’s costume over them. Viktor ran his hands up Yuuri’s legs, patting and straightening, each touch a caress. Yuuri shivered pleasurably looking down at the silver head near his waist. An image flashed across Yuuri’s mind of the night before when Viktor had knelt in the same position for a very different purpose, and a blush bloomed like the sunrise on his face just as Viktor stood to look him in the face. Viktor’s low chuckle made Yuuri blush harder.

“And just what are you thinking about Yuuri? It can’t be the routine…”

Yuuri bit his lip then smiled. “No. Just thinking about last night Vitya.” Yuuri threw his arms around his coach’s neck, and murmured into his ear “I love you.”

Viktor took hold of Yuuri’s shoulders, pulling him away slightly to kiss his nose gently. He gave Yuuri a smoldering look and murmured back, “Then show me.”

The commentator had finished announcing the scores of the previous skater, and was beginning Yuuri’s introduction as Viktor pushed him out onto the ice, skate-guards in hand. Yuuri skated toward the center, trying to banish the thoughts and blushes Viktor’s look had aroused. This program was not an erotic one, though it was a love-letter to Viktor, in a way. It was the first one Yuuri had ever choreographed for himself. Viktor had suggested it, and helped him with advice and support and even a suggestion or two. But Yuuri had created this free skate program, as a celebration of their relationship, and their one year anniversary as coach and student.

As the music, another composition from his composer friend whose Yuri on Ice composition had been so wonderful last year, began, Yuuri concentrated on his first steps on the ice. He had tried to put all his love and respect for Viktor into this, and he had to make sure it shone through in every movement of his arms, every spin, every jump. The sweat began to trickle down his spine and face, despite the coldness of the rink, and the first twinges of tiredness impinged on his concentration, but he ignored both. He landed his next quad with a slight wobble, but didn’t fall, and the following jump, a triple salchow, went off without a hitch. Yuuri lifted his chin, and went into the final step sequence, pouring his whole heart and soul into each movement. He ended facing Viktor with both arms outstretched in a gesture of both invitation and appeal, chest heaving with effort and a release from exertion. Viktor’s face was only a blur at this distance, but there was no mistaking his outstretched arms, waiting for Yuuri to return for his hug.

Yuuri grinned, pleased with himself for once, this one had really gone well, and skated into the warm circle of Viktor’s arms.

Viktor’s warm breath tickled his ear as he murmured, “You really love me that much do you?”

“Even more.” Yuuri grinned. “And I’ll show you at the next competition. I can do better, and be a better credit to your coaching.”  
Viktor just smiled lovingly and handed over the skate-guards so they could go to the kiss-and-cry to wait for Yuuri’s scores. The last skater to enter the ice, Yurio, snorted as he passed them.

“Not good enough yet, katsudon. Watch closely.” Yurio growled in an undertone still clearly audible to the other two.

Viktor and Yuuri grinned at each other and shouted words of encouragement to the younger man as he stepped onto the ice.

Yuuri’s score, when it came made them throw their arms around each other in joy. 213.58, placing his overall score in 1st place, narrowly beating JJ’s score by 5 tenths of a point. Viktor’s warm lips found his, and Yuuri’s mind went blank as a wave of heat rose and engulfed him, ending as it always did in his cheeks. He finally came back to himself and pushed Viktor away a little.

“Vitya, th-the cameras. P-people are looking.”

Viktor’s hand came up to cup his cheek. “Let them look. I’m sure they enjoy the show, with two such beautiful men as stars.”

Yuuri was sure his hair would burst into flame at the intensity of his blush at this. “Viktor!”

With a low laugh, Viktor released him, and led him off to watch Yurio’s free skate, fingers interlaced as they each silently urged their friend on from the side of the rink.


	2. Skate Canada

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _If Victor didn't make it to the Final, Yuuri would never forgive himself. If they both made it to the final, Yuuri didn’t know what he would do. Competing against Victor was his dream. He wanted to win gold. He hated to lose. But he wanted Victor to stay who he was, the gold-medalist, the champion, the Idol._
> 
> In which Yuuri is just as anxious about Victor's performance as his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thank you to everyone who read the first chapter of this! Really, I'm so delighted! ^_^
> 
> So, this fic is based around my personal head canon that Victor would not have been able to get back in shape for international competition before the following Grand Prix Series. So this is Victor's triumphant return to figure skating competition, along with Yuuri's third time aiming for GPF gold.

Yuuri knelt before Victor, tying his skates and collecting the guards. He smiled slightly listening to Coach Yakov give Victor the usual lectures. Yuuri looked up into laughing blue eyes, and stood to give Victor a last good luck kiss before his Skate Canada short program.

“Vitya are you even listening to me??” Yakov growled. 

Victor skated over to lean across the barrier and hug his grouchy trainer. “I’ll be fine Yakov. Quit worrying.”

Yakov turned brick red and growled as Victor turned away. He skated toward the middle of the rink with a final cheerful wink at Yuuri, amid the wild cheers of the watching crowd. Yuuri clenched his hands together to still their shaking. Victor might be unconcerned about his first international competition since returning to professional figure skating, but Yuuri was tangled in enough knots of worry for both of them. What if he fell? What if he hurt himself? What if he _didn’t win??_ If Victor didn't make it to the Final, Yuuri would never forgive himself. If they both made it to the final, Yuuri didn’t know what he would do. Competing against Victor was his dream. He wanted to win gold. He hated to lose. But he wanted Victor to stay who he was, the gold-medalist, the champion, the Idol.

A deathly hush fell over the crowd and Victor’s music started. Yuuri forgot his anxiety in the joy of watching. He began to blush almost immediately. He’d forgotten how Victor’s short program affected him. To say it was merely sexy would stretch the meaning of that word beyond its limits. This was not Chris’s raw sex appeal, nor even Yuuri’s hard-won Eros. This was all Victor, elegant, beautiful, and seductive. His arms sketched shapes in the air that reminded Yuuri of their strength when they were wrapped around him. His first quads were poetry hanging in the air, the landing perfect. The silver hair flowed in the wind of his passage, and Victor’s face wore an expression of challenge it sometimes displayed when he pounced on Yuuri in the evenings. Yuuri’s flush spread to cover his face completely, and he concentrated on not getting hard enough to notice through his clothes. The wobble on Victor’s third quad landing helped, bringing back the worry. He had one more quad to go, the last jump, almost at the very end of this technically challenging program. Victor swirled around in a spin, whipping out of it to build up speed for the last jump. There was a hesitation, a wince as his foot touched back down awkwardly, and then….Victor fell. Yuuri blinked stupidly, shock rooting him to the spot, echoed by the shocked gasp of the crowd. Of course. He’d seen Victor fall in practice before. It had been a long hard road for Victor to build his skills back up this spring and summer. But this wasn’t practice. This was a competition. Victor was the best. He didn’t fall.

Victor came to rest in the final pose of his program, chest heaving with effort, eyes locked on Yuuri. Yuuri shook off his paralysis and dashed around to greet his love as he exited the rink. Victor came off the ice, waving at the raggedly cheering fans with a wide grin on his face. Once off the ice, he threw his arms around Yuuri.

“Did you see? How was it?” Victor’s voice grew warm and private. “Did I make you blush like usual?”

“Oh Victor, are you hurt? Yes, of course you were beautiful, but that last jump...did you hurt yourself?”

Yakov puffed up, face still red with fury. “Vitya, you fool, I told you be careful of that knee! You never listen to me, and you landed wrong, and now you’re probably going to be unable to compete tomorrow! I told you it was foolish to put a jump that difficult so late!”

“Yakov Yakov, I’m fine! Really, barely even any pain. I just need a rest.” He smiled down at Yuuri, who was practically trying to lift the other man off his feet. “I’m fine, really, I promise. I can walk and everything. I just need my skate guards back, ok?”

Yuuri handed over the items in question, but didn’t let go of Victor, steadying him while he put his guards back on. Yuuri didn’t miss the way Victor winced again as he rested all his weight on the strained leg. Glancing up at Yakov’s silent, intent scowl at his skater, he knew he wasn’t the only one to notice it either. 

In the kiss-and-cry Yakov kept up a steady stream of irritated Russian, most of which Yuuri realized was critique of a, in Yakov's view, sloppy performance. Yuuri tuned it out and returned to his spiral of worry about and for and because of Victor, that irritating man who was sitting there grinning like a fool at his coach, fingers laced with Yuuri’s. The scores, when they came were both less of a blow than Yuuri’s anxious brain had latched onto, and yet still a disappointment. They were high enough, good scores by anyone else’s standards. But...they only placed him in second, behind Otabek. And JJ had yet to skate. 

Yuuri bit his lip as Victor celebrated and Yakov growled. They left the kiss and cry to watch JJ’s skate from the boards, and Yuuri made a concerted effort to study JJ’s program again, rather than worry. When JJ’s scores came over the speakers however, they confirmed Yuuri’s worst fears. Victor was in third. Third. Yuuri bit his lip again and willed himself not to cry. The cameras would be looking at them, as the wash of the commentator’s excited speculation about their states of mind assaulted him. Neutral. His face needed to be neutral, pleasant, not at all worried. He glanced up through his lashes. Victor’s face wore his “rock star smile”, but there was some tension under it. Not a lot, just...determination. 

Later, in their hotel room Victor was quiet and introspective, frowning absently at his feet after his shower, or standing still to stare into the middle distance midway through putting his briefs on. Yuuri, normally a fan of watching Victor in various states of undress, huddled on his side of the bed, staring unseeing at his phone. Victor was third. And it was his fault. All his. If only Victor hadn’t taken all that time off to coach him. If only he hadn’t accepted Victor’s arrival, or god help him gotten rotten drunk and begged his idol for coaching. If only he had demanded less of Victor this past practice season. Victor should’ve been concentrating on building his own program, not bolstering an average skater’s failing confidence. 

Victor got into the bed and pulled the covers up, breaking into Yuuri’s miserable contemplations. Yuuri merely nodded when Victor asked if it was ok to switch off the light, and slid down onto his pillow, putting the phone on his nightstand. Suddenly Victor’s weight was pressed against Yuuri’s side, and those beautiful blue eyes were staring lovingly into his as Victor propped himself on one elbow over Yuuri. 

“Yuuuri love. What’s wrong? You’ve been very silent all evening.” Victor punctuated his question with a light kiss on Yuuri’s nose, another at the corner of his mouth, and a final one on his t-shirt-clad shoulder. 

Yuuri turned his head away, flushing slightly and unaccountably fighting back tears. Victor was worrying about him. Again. When he should be concentrating entirely on resting and getting a better score in tomorrow’s free skate. If he, Yuuri, were not such a weak-willed idiot…

Gentle fingers turned his head back, and Victor dropped a tender kiss on his lips, lingering but not demanding. Yuuri tried to make himself turn away again. But he was always at his weakest for Victor’s kisses. 

“Yuuri,” Victor whispered when they broke apart to rest forehead to forehead. “What’s wrong. Let me in, love. Please don’t shut me out.”

“N-nothing, nothing Vitya. Really.”

“Yuuri.” Now there was a bit of a warning in Victor’s tone.

Even that faint hint of censure broke Yuuri’s resolve, and he dissolved into tears entirely. Stupid. Weak.

“What?” Victor reared back a bit, eyes wide with concern and confusion.

Yuuri turned toward Victor, burying his face in the pillow, shoulders heaving. After a few moments gentle hands rearranged his body, and he was cradled in Victor’s strong arms, face pressed to Victor’s smooth, bare chest. 

“Shhh.” The gentle hands were stroking his hair and back, gentle kisses were pressed to his head. “Shh. It’s alright. You’re worrying, and you must stop.”

“It’s all my fault, and you’ll lose, and you’ll hate me, and it’s all my fault.”

“Shh. I love you, and nothing is your fault. Sleep beloved, we'll talk in the morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. I *meant* to end this chapter with some sexy fluff, but it turns out Yuuri's anxious freakout was much more of a Thing than I anticipated, possibly because I'm channelling him a bit recently. Anyway, there WILL be some sweet sexy times soon, I promise! Thank you for sticking with me and keeping reading!

**Author's Note:**

> This is part 1, or chapter 1? I guess. Almost done with chapter 2, and have 3 plotted. Dunno if I'll insert any more than that. Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy my first attempt at victuuri cuteness. ^_^


End file.
